Summary: This article, by guest writer Steven Noonoo, talks about the challenges faced by students of military families and how social-emotional competencies help these students manage constant change as they move from school to school. This article also reports on grants in two Texas school districts helping these students thrive.

Source: Steven Noonoo, Education Week, May 9, 2017

Description:

More than one and a half a million students in U.S. public schools have at least one parent deployed on active duty–and for them, life is anything but typical. Military-connected students on average move three times more frequently than their civilian counterparts, and research out of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health has shown that frequent moves, coupled with the stress of parental deployment, mean that these students often have difficulty adjusting and connecting to their new communities, which can lead to social and academic problems down the line. For military-connected students, school serves as a protective environment, and proper support from teachers, counselors, and other staff can mitigate risk factors and help them grow, both academically and emotionally.